Four big words: Authentictity, Candor, Differentiation, Energy.
Authenticity means being comfortable in your own shoes. People see through a phony. They can count on the truth. Hiring filter.
Energy or energize – you have to excite folks. You have to get them excited so that they will have the energy to follow you. Jack went to a university in Phoenix and spoke to 42 call-center folks for 10 hours. They connected on what the mission was. And he found out what their problems were. It was a contact-hours passion transfer.
By the end of the time, he had connected – without a plan of any sort. Raise the intellectual bar of the conversation by drawing out those who are smarter than you. Insecure people hire dopes, and they don’t get any better.
Candor – No artificial harmony. Speed because of less beauracracy, less paperwork. Say what we think, not what we think the boss wants to hear.
Differentiation – Ranking the staff as the top 20%, the vital 70%, and then the rest of them. Sounds kinda heartless. This is a result of CANDOR, since everyone is quite honest. Telling everyone they are doing a great job gives no one any place to go. Besides, folks already know, with some exceptions, who is great and who is stinking the place up.
“Get them out of there. Give them a soft landing, but sit down with them and help them to see that you no longer feel that they belong there.” They might be a perfect fit in another organization.
Your top 20% has a generosity of spirit. They love to give bonuses and raises. They aren’t stingy. They don’t hide the good folks in their department in order to retain their staff – or to make themselves look better.
When you set your values, make leaders who promote folks, you’ll get more of that.
The vital 70% are still very very important people. Not always there in a clutch, but good enough to click the flywheel. Consistent.
The lowest 10%, the hallway whisperer/cynic is your worst problem.
Jack: My worst failing was moving too slowly in the first five years – back when folks thought he was tearing the place up on arrival. John Wooden said, “BE QUICK, BUT DON’T HURRY.”
Succession plan: There was a process by which the successor was identified. Jack’s successor has done an exceptional job. How can a pastor do this?
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